Hilux 4x4 Forum

Hey guys thanks for letting me join
Recently got myself a 1999 Toyota Hilux extra cab 2.7petrol used it on and off-road and it's preformed well
My question is I want to make this thing better off-road so what's the largest tyres I can put on there without modifications
I'm running 31s which are to small
Cheers look forward to a reply

Hi Jack and welcome!

31's Are probably as big as you can go without any mods. If you go for 32's or 33's the front tyres are going to foul without doing some kind of lift and even then they'll probably still foul against the foot-wells while articulating on turns. The rear is not a problem.

Not what you were wanting to hear, I know, but there it is. That said, I run 31's and I do some rough stuff along with guys that are all running on 33's - admittedly I scrape here and there where they don't (that's what the sliders are there for) but I have a fraction more confidence that I'm not straining my drive-train as much as what they are. Come to think of it, I haven't damaged any drive-train components (yet) whereas a few of them have. Also some of them are using motors that are bigger than OEM which is also a contributing factor. The biggest worry is that I tend to bump my diffs from time to time, but they're not immune from that either.

Another benefit of the smaller diameter tyres is that crawl speed is slightly lower with slightly more torque. So in essence what I'm saying is don't write off the 31's so easily.

Hey thanks heaps for the reply
I'll take that into thought for my next purchase
I should of asked in my post but what's the max width before the tyre catches
Cheers

I'm not sure about the width, but hopefully one of more of the guys with IFS Lux's will respond and confirm both width and diameter.

Hi Jack . I see you live in Whakatane . I got a mate that lives in Optiki . Steve Nelson . I lived in the waikato for 6 years.
We did an awesome track from the desert highway side across to the other side , Cant remember what it was called , Lots of mud and lots of fun . 35km took us 7hours. camped and went back the next day.
. https://www.facebook.com/malcolm.brown. ... 598&type=3# .
I had a Daihatsu Feroza and was followed by an old disco, The 3.5 V8. That thing was a beast.

Hey Steve sounds awesome will have to give it a crack once I get the muds on
Cheers

As Andy said, 31's is the biggest you can go an a standard IFS (and mine still scrapped a tad on full lock right IIRC).

Anything bigger will require some suspension mods. Keep in mind the powerloss of bugger tyres and soon you will have to regear to regain some lost power - it starts to cost some $$$ soon!

Malcolm, I can't open your link. Or must one be registered on FB to see it?

Driving two 2.7i trucks and have 31" Bridgestone AT tyres fitted to both, works out to be a perfect match and the Speedo reading is accurate to within 1% according to the GPS readings.


-F_D

Hi Family Dog . You may have to be on Facebook . Not so clued up at putting up photos . It was a suprise to me when it actually dragged and dropped .

What most posts are saying is true .... I have 33's on mine .... had to get rims with -22 offset ... cut and bash the guards ... and they still rub at a certain angle under load. There is a power loss out on the road and I cant crawl slow .... ( I would have to change the diff centres to fix that = $$$$$ ) ... unless you have the cash, live with the 31's. You really only get an extra 1" higher under your car by fitting 33's.

Yes, you only gain 1 inch in clearance, but that's on level or flat ground.

Where the real benefit comes in is in rough (especially rocky) terrain - the bigger circumference tyre doesn't fall as deeply into gaps and holes. This is where the real improved clearance lies. Besides that, capability further improves a little because there is slightly more traction with a little less articulation required (a little more down pressure on extended wheels and of course a slightly bigger foot). Also less climbing out of holes means driveabililty in the rough is fractionally better and therefore to some extent, control as well (bearing in mind that you can't crawl quite as slowly and the one benefit almost offsets the other).

That all said, I still stand by what I said earlier and to my mind, those small gains (although they add up) is not worth the hassle and expense on a vehicle that is inherently not suited to run 33's.

In my search for tyre posts I came across this one.
I'm curious - the conversations always discuss 31's vs 33's. Are there metric sizes that are in between? My '98 IFS lux has a 2" lift already but not so keen on modifying guards and panels if it can be avoided but would like slightly bigger than the 31's that are on there currently. Also happy to get new rims if required.

This should give you all you need to make comparisons .....

https://tiresize.com/comparison/